How often do we hear this….

When I tell my daughter to do something she used to do it. No questions asked, just did it but now, she is a young adult who by her own right tells me, “No.” At first, I was a little surprised, and yes, delighted in her new found independence but other times I was so afraid for her. Not afraid that she couldn’t achieve the goals she was striving for but afraid that those obstacles and pit falls that had fallen upon me would blind side her in the worst possible way. She knows right from wrong, she knows there are consequences, she respects others and she was brought up well.

I could see vividly in my mind the crying, the tears and I could feel the pain that she would feel from decisions that somehow I felt were not the best. I didn’t want her to go through such pain so, I would fight with her and fight till somehow the “new idea” would fade away and she would continue on her way. Another disaster totally missed. I was able to sleep a little better at night but, it never stayed that way for long.

It would happen again, but this time I was reminded that she had to make her own mistakes and she had to find a way if it failed. That no matter how much I wanted to protect her, she needed to go. To go and discover the path that would lead her on her own journey.

Here’s the thing….How different is this growing up of a child any different from a new President who seems to fight at every turn? He fights businesses, celebrities, leaders, and well, everyone. Like my daughter, he gets on social media (which I can not stand) and makes comments that are misunderstood, rude, brash, you name it. Though each one has an image of what they want done there might be a point here to make.

It has become quite clear to me that if I wrote exactly how I felt about things…someone would be offended. There would be “hate” mail in my email and I would be called a name or two. So, in not wanting to “offend” anyone…I stopped writing.

Well, that’s not exactly fair nor is it the true solution to any cause. If anyone opposes something there should be respect to the opposing view; no matter how crazy it seems to be. My insane idea by your standards may in fact have some truth or resolution when combined with some of your crazy ideas. That’s how things should work, respect and the willingness to listen, evaluate and blend ideas to have a combined look at things to me makes sense.

Not everyone has this view. Some feel they have a right to shove ideology down your throat and say, “That’s the way it is.” I remember when I was a kid and when my parents said stuff like that to me, it did not go very well. Same as an adult. What I find different now is that many don’t take the time to learn the history or background of a situation. They go by what they hear in short bursts of information and spit it back out like its the truth.

Whatever happened to digesting information, finding out the truth of the information or even the sources motivation of the information. It seems that many do not have the time or don’t want to take the time to develop a strong well supported foundation to an argument. Having different views is good, it’s healthy, it’s important.

Where it is not good is when one can be lead blindly because they don’t take the time to think about the history or challenge the motivation of someone.

Moving with the masses is not acceptable, we all have a responsibility to speak up, to express, to respect and challenge.